Serena
I stay paralyzed in my spot on the couch. Not feeling comfortable enough to move even an inch, but the pain in my arm is skyrocketing, and I need some sort of relief. I open my mouth, about to ask mom to get the pain meds, but stop when I see her still staring at the door.
I don’t know what they talked about in the kitchen, and even though there is a part of me that wants to know, I refuse to ask. From the look on my mom’s face, she isn’t happy about it. I can see the anger and hurt brewing in her eyes. The need for retribution for whatever they said is burning brightly.
I have never seen that look in her eyes before. She has always been so calm, cool, and collected. Nothing has ever been able to push her buttons, it’s one of the many things that make her a great lawyer. But those three were in our house for such a brief time, and my mom looks like she is about to wreak havoc.
Mom mumbles something under her breath, far too quietly for me to hear, before she turns on her heels and storms back into the kitchen. The clang of pots and pans is deafening in the quiet house, and she is about to start rage cooking.
At least dinner will be tasty tonight.
I don’t know when the rage cooking started, but it is something I have always been able to remember. Though she may not show her anger on the outside, I have always been able to see it brewing on the inside. Instead of releasing it in a toxic way, my mom has always thrown that anger into a Michelin star gourmet meal.
At least it’s a better way of dealing with anger than exploding.
Fallout by Sleep Theory starts loudly playing from the kitchen, meaning Mom doesn’t want to be disturbed anytime soon. Rage music to go with the rage cooking. Never a good sign. Whatever those three said is getting to her.
Standing from the couch, I walk back to Mom’s room to grab the bottle of medication. Opening the bottle is a struggle with only one good arm, but it opens eventually. Shaking the bottle until one of the pills fell into my hand. I pop the pill in my mouth and swallow it dry. As the medication works its way into my body, the pain is more manageable, and I retreat into the safety of my oversized blanket on the couch.
The door bangs up, bouncing off the wall with a loud boom. A startled scream ripped from my lips as I pulled the blanket over my head. Geez, no wonder I got attacked. I have the worst survival instincts.
“, whatever your middle name is, Gold! What the hell is going on?” Evie's scream pierces through the mild panic my body is experiencing.
I poked my head above the blanket, seeing my best friend still in the doorway. Her face is pure thunder that could easily bring anyone to their knees. Her curly light brown hair looked like a lion’s mane today. Pale blue eyes scanned around, finally spotting me in a ball on the couch. She rushes over to me and engulfs me in a bear hug. I wince at the pain, but the hug feels too good to care right now.
The tension in Evie’s body slowly dissipates the longer she holds on to me. A splash of something wet hits my shoulder while we continue to embrace each other. Soaking in the comfort from each other that we both desperately need.
“What the hell happened to you? When I left, everything was fine. Then I get to school today and you aren’t there. You aren’t answering your phone. The Kings wouldn’t tell me anything, but I could see they were upset about something. And seeing that those three never show any emotion, I knew it had to be about you. What the fuck happened girl?”
I want to tell Evie the truth. Get everything out in the open, but I’m not ready for her to know. As selfish as it may be, I don’t want to scare my friend away from me. She is the first true one I have ever had, and I can’t let go of that just yet.
I know I should tell her. Let her know that being around me isn’t safe. She could have easily gotten hurt that night if she hadn’t had to leave when she did. Evie would never judge me for what is going on. It’s not like it is something I can control, but to keep the small amount of control I have, I need to keep the narrative my version. It’s one of the miniscule things I can do to keep myself from going crazy.
Instead, I take the coward's route and stick to my lie.
“After you left on Saturday, someone broke in. I don’t think they were expecting anyone to be home. I tried to run, but I didn’t make it far. He shot me in the arm right as the guys walked into my house and he ran.”
Evie’s eyes go wide, and her jaw is practically on the floor. Lost for words, which is a first for her, as she takes in the small amount of information I gave her.
“I am so sorry this happened to you. Maybe if I hadn’t left, none of this would have happened. I would have been able to call the police… or something. You wouldn’t have gotten shot and hurt if I were still here that night.” Evie’s voice is choppy as she tries to hold back the tears that threaten to fall.
Hearing her words makes me feel exceptionally happy that I was able to find a friend like her. Cleo never would have said those things to me. She would have spent the entire time talking about how grateful that it happened to me instead of her. That is just the kind of person she is.
“You are so lucky the guys showed up when they did.” Evie remarks.
Yeah, I was, but I still wonder how they knew to come to my house when they did. Was it just a coincidence, or is there something I don’t know about? I refuse to believe they had anything to do with what happened to me, but there is still this small niggling in me that it was just too coincidental that they happened to walk in the exact moment that guy pulled a gun on me.
There is something they are keeping from me. I don’t have any idea what it could be, but I can feel it. The feeling mainly comes from Midas, but I know the three of them well enough to know that if one is keeping a secret, all three of them are.
Originally, I was going to ask them for their help finding this guy. It’s obvious they already want to, but maybe I shouldn’t ask. Not until we have a chance to sit down and discuss everything that is going on. Give them a chance to come clean with whatever. To finally put the bet and the past behind us so we can move forward.
If I don’t get their help, I could always ask Dante, but he is as much of an unknown as the Kings. He is also keeping something from me, but I haven’t spent as much time with him as I have with the Kings.
I know I won’t be able to find this person by myself, having no idea how to do that. I went from being the most sheltered girl to one considering four men who are as deadly as they are beautiful.
It is unfair how spectacularly handsome they all are.
Dante with his dark as night hair. His olive skin is flawless, but it shows how much he has been through too. I have seen the scars on his knuckles. He is a fighter, but there is gentleness to him. His smile shines bright like the sun. I still wonder how those sharp canine teeth would feel against my skin. And how he speaks Italian. It's swoon worthy. The night of our date, he spoke to me in Italian, and though I didn’t know what he was saying, I could listen to him speak for hours.
Midas is a lot like Dante. Dark. Dangerous. Ruthless. If I didn’t know any better, you would think they were related. He is arrogant and rude, expects the world to bow to him whenever he demands something, but he is also sweet and caring. He has proven he can be both, even when I doubted everything about him. Every inch of his sinful body is marked with the mayhem he lives in. The muscles he works hard for, the tattoos, the few scars I have seen. He has lived a life at eighteen that most would never be able to have even if they lived to be a hundred years old.
Odin always makes me smile, even when I thought I never would again. He has become my lighthouse in a dark storm. Always guiding me back to the light and happiness. Going above and beyond to be there for me when I needed him. Spoiling me in small ways. Every time I see him, I know that everything will be fine. His soulful blue eyes are always so bright, like looking into the ocean on a clear, sunny day. His smile dazzles me, and his laugh is so infectious.
Zeus is still a mystery, but I want nothing more than to solve it. He has always been quiet from the gossip I have heard, but he opened up to me. I have watched him as much as he has me. I see how broken and lost he looks, but there is still hope in his eyes. Hope he doesn’t know how he feels. Every day with him, I see it grow. He once called me his serenity, but he has become mine too.
I look back at my friend and see the tears in her eyes that trigger mine. Her arms wrapped back around me. We held each other as both our tears flowed freely. At some point, I don’t know which are mine and which are hers as they pool between us. After some time, she pulls away and wipes the remaining tears from her eyes.
“I’m thankful you weren’t here. I would hate for you to get hurt because of me.” I whisper. “So, did anything exciting happen at school today?” I ask, needing things to be lighter than they are.
She gives me a side eye, clearly knowing I am avoiding the more important topic. Like the amazing woman she is, Evie drops it to tell me all about school today.
“Most of the day was boring. The Kings were in an awful mood all day, and everyone avoided them like the plague. A poor freshman accidentally bumped into Midas in the hallway at one point. I thought Midas was going to murder him, or at least break a few bones based on the look on his face. Thankfully, Odin was able to hold him back as the poor kid ran for his life.”
Of course, Midas was ready to kill someone for daring to touch him. That man needs to learn a little humility, and that accidents happen. He can’t blame everyone for everything in life.
“The best part of the day was lunch. Valerie was on the war path, and the Kings let her have it most epically. There is even a video of it circulating the school. Let me pull it up for you.”
Evie digs her phone up and opens a video before passing me her phone. I press play and watch the scene unfold in front of me. Whoever took this video must have been insanely close to the Kings, which means only one thing. One of them took the video. You can very clearly see Midas and Valerie standing, and Zeus sitting in his chair, looking bored as fuck at the whole encounter. So, Odin shot this.
Of course he did.
Valerie is screaming in Midas’s face, but her words are almost indecipherable. Midas, to his credit, looks so calm the entire time. His arms crossed over his broad chest, showing off his perfectly sculpted biceps in the black T-shirt he is wearing.
When Valerie finally stops her tirade, the atmosphere changes. Gone is the blank look from Midas’s face, and something dark and menacing replaces it. A small, deadly chuckle leaves his lips as he stares her down. The fear Valerie feels is palpable even through the phone. She takes a few steps backward before Zeus jumps up and holds her still.
“I think you forget who we are.” Midas starts as he takes a step forward. “We are the Kings of Chaos. And the last thing I will ever slide is some preppy bitch like you talk to me the way you just did.
“Let’s get a few things straight. None of us has been or ever will be yours. You are nothing but a loose pussy we fucked out of boredom. You mean nothing to any of us. You are disposable, and now that your usefulness is no longer needed, you are nothing. Less than nothing. If you were on fire, I wouldn’t piss on you to put it out.”
The sound of Odin’s cackle can be heard while everyone else is dead silent in the room. Tears start to pool in Valerie’s eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. A determined look flares in her eyes as she takes the verbal lashing from Midas, but it doesn’t seem to matter what he says to her. She won’t let this go.
“If I hear you say another bad thing about , you will pay for it. That’s not a threat. It is a promise. Don’t speak to us again. Don’t look at us again. Hell, don’t even think about us again. If you do, I will know, and you will pay. Fuck off Valerie and don’t let me see your bitch ass face again.”
Zeus finally releases her and pushes her away from them. Valerie trips over her heels and falls to the floor. She glares at all three of them one last time. “You will regret this. Don’t forget what I said to you, Midas. I have no problem using that.”
“Try it. I dare you.” Midas’s voice is so full of malice that it makes my body involuntarily shiver.
The video ends with Midas taking his drink and pouring it on Valerie’s head as she screams, and Odin laughing hysterically in the background. I hand the phone back to Evie, who has a massive grin on her face that I can’t help but mirror.
I don’t believe in bullying for any reason, but from the little I know about Valerie, that is the only way to get the message through to her. She doesn’t take no for an answer. The pouring of a drink on her was a little harsh, but I can’t help admitting the satisfaction that it gave me to watch. Thank God for Odin filming this.
I will have to give him a proper thanks when I see him next.
The rest of the evening, Evie stays by my side. She pestered me until I showed her the wound on my arm. She went into mother hen mode, cleaning and rebandaging the wound. I have no idea how she knows how to do this, but I am grateful that she did. It is something I needed to do, but looking at it brings that night rushing back.
The angry music that has been our ambience of the evening finally silences from the kitchen, and Mom pops her head out, surprised to see Evie, but she gives her a warm, inviting smile.
“Thankfully, I made enough food for an army. Do you want to join us for dinner?”
Evie excitedly nods her head, and we head into the kitchen.
Dinner is quiet, mainly on my part. Mom and Evie talk animatedly to each other while I just stay in my silent bubble. Throughout the meal, both sneak glances at me, making sure I am alright. Which I appreciate, but I hate being seen as someone who needs constant supervision. Like I am made of glass and at any second, I will break.
Once dinner is done, Evie says goodbye before giving me another big hug and heading home. I park my butt back on the couch, not wanting to step foot into my room just yet. I know at some point I will need to sleep in there again, but for now that’s not happening.
Mom brings me some dessert that she made and a drink before sitting down next to me. The TV is still on, but we don’t pay attention. We just talk.
Mom tries extremely hard to talk about what happened that night without actually asking me what happened. I know she wants answers and deserves them too, but I don’t want to freak her out with everything. She would instantly blame herself. Saying if she had never taken this job, then none of this would have happened. That may be true, but if we had stayed, I would have been stuck in a situation just as bad. I would never have been strong enough to leave Evan without distance, and would have been trapped in an abusive relationship that possibly could have killed me one day.
I was na?ve once upon a time, and maybe I still am, but I am learning every day.
I stick to the story that I came up with. Someone broke in and I caught him in my room. I ran, wanting to call the cops, but he cornered me in the kitchen. I tried to defend myself with a knife, but he shot. The guys came in and chased him out of the house and called for an ambulance. Mom seems to buy that story, especially because when she asked the Kings if that is what happened, they told her it was. I didn’t have to tell them that I lied. They just acted like it was the truth.
Instead of focusing on the things I wish I could forget, I changed the subject. Asked her about work and when she planned to go back. Her boss gave her as much paid time off as she wanted until I got better. My mom told him she would only be taking a few days off because she has a big case on which she is working.
Once the movie that I mindlessly put on is over, Mom excuses herself for bed. I give her a quick kiss before she walks down the hall to her room. I stay seated on the couch, putting on another movie that I know I won’t pay attention to, but I need the noise to distract me.
My phone chimes on the table in front of me. I grab it and almost drop it immediately.
Unknown: I’m coming for you, Little One.